Mehboob Ghanchi, 38 and Ganesh Mudaliyar, 32, are bound by two things – cancer and an attitude to defeat pessimism and make it big in life. On the eve of launching their Rs 1.25 crore screening printing venture, Mehboob and Ganesh, donated Rs 15,000 and adopted a cancer patient who may not have money but has the hope to get cured.

It is a big leap for these two friends belonging to middle class families.But over the years,they have learnt that every odd can be surmounted and impossible is nothing.

Mehboob was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease (lymph node cancer) 10 years ago, just six months after his marriage. He underwent severe mental and physical turmoil as his in-laws took away his wife saying they did not want their daughter to be doomed in a marriage where death was imminent.

A year of treatment later, Mehboob got cured. He started his business Mamaji Graphics where he would take orders and get them executed at a different place. His wife returned and today, he is a proud father of three children. It was by chance that Mehboob met Ganesh who used to work at the printing press where he
would get his orders executed. Ganesh was good at his work but what struck a chord between the two was that Ganesh’s brother Rajshekhar too has successfully battled blood cancer like Mehboob.

"He would often discuss how people were not ready to marry their daughter to his brother because he had cancer a decade ago. Rajshekhar earns Rs 20,000, is completely cured, but the stigma remains. This common ground of facing cancer and a mutual regard for each other’s abilities brought us together to work on our own enterprise," says Mehboob.Ganesh says they have jointly taken a loan of Rs 85 lakh to start their enterprise ‘Sara Printers’. "We wish to do well and support more cancer patients," says Ganesh.

Director of Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI) Dr Pankaj Shah said Mehboob investing in such an ambitious project is an indication that cancer does not mean death. "It is highly curable in certain cases with patients living a normal life," he added.

"Like Mehboob,there are 100 others,including cured patients, who have adopted a cancer patient. But there is a huge gap as we have nearly 1,000-odd patients who need help to overcome their disease," said Dr Shah.

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